


Do you have some candles ?

by NoMatterTheOceans



Series: Feysand Holiday Fluff Fest [18]
Category: A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-18
Updated: 2019-12-18
Packaged: 2021-02-18 08:09:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21841006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoMatterTheOceans/pseuds/NoMatterTheOceans
Summary: Part of my Feysand Holiday Fluff Fest!!!Prompt: the power goes out in our apartment building, but i’m not prepared for this, and you come to check on me
Relationships: Feyre Archeron/Rhysand
Series: Feysand Holiday Fluff Fest [18]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1552855
Comments: 6
Kudos: 74





	Do you have some candles ?

“Shit!”

The word escaped her before she could stop it, but she didn’t find the strength to care. Because the power was out again, and she was left without candles, again. It was her own fault, really. Because the power had been out three times this week already, and every time, she had promised herself she would go out the next day and buy candles and a portable heater. And every time, she had forgotten, focusing on her latest painting and not taking the time to go to the hardware store. And now she was left in the dark again. Except this time, it was freezing outside, and with the power out, she didn’t have any way to warm herself up.

She was still sitting in the dark, wallowing in her own misery, when someone knocked on her door. Slowly, and stumbling upon many of the mess on her floor, she made her way to the front door and opened it a crack.

Her neighbor Rhysand was outside, his gorgeous features lit by the soft light of the candle in his light, a smile on his face. 

“Hey Feyre, how are you?” But he seemed to realize to stupidity of his question on his own, because he chuckled and added: “I ask during a power outage.”

She couldn’t help her own laugh, and opened the door wider.

“I’m fine Rhys. You?”

“Good. I spent the week upstate with my parents and sister, and only got back tonight.”

She could have rolled her eyes. Of course, he was he type of people who just ‘spent a week upstate’ while she was stuck in Velaris with no money during the holidays. She could have, but Rhys was such a nice man that she restrained herself from doing so.

“So, you missed the various power outages this week? You’re lucky!”

“I did, and that’s actually why I’m here. Do you have some candles you could lend me? This one’s the only one I could find at my place.”

The irony. “Oh Rhys I’m so sorry, I’m not ready at all for this storm, and I don’t even have one candle I could give you. I don’t even have one for myself right now.”

“Wait, you mean to tell me that you’re going to spend the evening alone in the dark?”

She shrugged. “That’s the plan, yeah.”

“Do you have a heater or something?”

“Well I do, but I don’t have a portable one, so I’m out until the power is back.”

“That won’t do. You can’t just stay in the dark and in the cold all night. Do you want to come back to my place? I only have the one candle, but I do have a portable heater, so at least you wouldn’t die of hypothermia.”

Feyre hesitated for a minute. Rhysand was nice, he was even someone she sometimes considered to be a friend. But to spend the evening at his place felt like a lot.

But then again, she was stranded without electricity or heat until the power came back, and she really didn’t feel like being alone again. So she nodded, and he smiled.

***

His apartment was roughly the same as hers, although less messy. Her living-room was always littered with paint brushes and canvas, her many sketchbooks spread out everywhere, accompanied by some mess from her adult life, including bills she had to pay, rests of chinese food containers and other everyday stuff she never had the time to clean when she was in a creative phaze.

They had been neighbors for a few months now, and had gotten coffee together a few times, in the mornings when they bumped into each other at the coffee shop down the street. But it was the first time she was setting foot in his apartment. His place was almost spotless. Sure, there was a book or two laying around, but other than that, she could see the antique furniture was being cared for meticulously, and she couldn’t help but laugh at how well it fitted its owner.

“Make yourself at home, I’m going to look for the heater.” He left her with the candle on the living room, and went into the bedroom with his phone in his hand.

Feyre took place on the couch, surprised but glad at finding it soft and comfortable.

Rhys came back with a small portable heater and a blanket that seemed to be the comfiest thing imaginable, with a creamy color and a fabric that looked to be fleece. He handed her the blanket and she opened it while he was setting up the heater in front of the couch. As soon as she touched it, she wished to spend the rest of the evening curled up inside it without moving. But she stayed reasonable, and laid it open to rest on her legs, leaving about half of it for her host. Rhys finished up with the heating, and came to sit beside her.

They stayed silent for a minute, and Feyre was starting to feel awkward. It was ridiculous, Rhys and her were always chatting easily when they met. She had found they had many common interests, and debating with him about the latest episode of their favorite tv show was always a pleasant time.

But now they were sitting silently beside one another, waiting for the heater to warm up the room, and she didn’t know what to say to him.

She didn’t have to think more as a shiver went through her.

“You’re still cold?”

“Yeah, my sweater isn’t really the warmest. But it’s gonna be fine.”

“You know, the heater takes a few minutes to start up when I haven’t used it in a while. Do you…” he seemed to hesitate, and under the light of the candles, Feyre could have sworn he was blushing. “Do you want to come closer to stay warm?”

She felt heat invade her cheeks at the thought of cuddling with him. She couldn’t possibly say yes. And yet… his sweater looked unbelievably warm, and she was really chilly. So she nodded, and he opened his arms with a smile.

A second later, she had her back resting against his chest, and his arms were circling her, stronger than what she’d imagined, warming her up. She could feel his heart beating against her, maybe a little bit faster than she would have thought.

“Are you feeling better?” His voice came from just beside her ear, and she relished in the feeling of his warm breath tickling her skin softly.

“I am, thank you.” She decided to just start talking, hoping it would make things easier between them. “So, how was your week upstate?”

“Good, my sister’s growing up really fast, she’s turning eighteen in a month.”

“Wow, that’s a big milestone!”

“It really is. She wanted me to invite her here for a few days, but I haven’t said yes, yet.”

“Why? You seem pretty close with her,” that’s what she had gathered from what he’d told her about his sister, talking about her every occasion he got.

“We are close, it’s just that she’s interested in things I don’t know anything about, and I don’t really know what I could do with her to make her enjoy her stay.”

“Like what? What’s she interested in?” She hadn’t done it consciously, but somehow her hands had ended up on top of his, and she was fidgeting with the rim of his sweater as he answered.

“Well, she’s really into the making of movies, she wants to study to become an animator. And she really loves arts and crafts, this kind of things. Only I don’t know anything about all this so I don’t know what we would do. I don’t want to disappoint her.”

She could feel his head so close to hers as she laid back in his arms and rested against his shoulder.

“Oh, you can go in the Rainbow! There’s this gallery right by the Sidra where they have regular exhibits on the history of media. Maybe they’ll have something that could interest her. And for the art things, there’s this great little shop that sells these incredibly varied sets of paint, and these handmade notebooks, and... it has everything.” He hands left his as she became moving around to try to describe the place. “It’s as if you don’t know what you want when you get in, but then you just find exactly what you need once you’re inside. I’ll give you the name of it if you want to take her.”

He was silent for a moment. “Do you want to come with us?”

“To the shop?”

“To the museum, to the shop,... I’m sure she will love you. And you’re much more interesting to talk to than I am.”

She didn’t answer at first, letting the offer sink in. Then she nodded, and felt him smile against her hair.

As a joke, she added: “It’s a date!” And she felt him chuckle against her. “What?”

“Nothing. It’s stupid.”

She turned in his arms, unwilling to let his arms slip away but wanting to see his face. And she found him much closer than she’d expected, their breath colliding as she looked into his eyes, the flickering light of the candle giving his eyes sparks of silver. She immediately wished she had a sketchbook with her to capture the image.

But she focused on their conversation. “Tell me. Why are you laughing?”

“It’s just…” he looked away from her, and she could have sworn he was blushing again. “Of all the times I tried to gather the courage to ask you out, I never thought I would need to bring my sister into the mix to do it.”

“You… You wanted to ask me out?” He nodded. “Since when?”

“Oh, only since the day I met you. And I never dared ask you out for real. And now here you are, planning a day trip with my baby sister.”

It was endearing, seeing him almost shy, seeing all the confidence that normally radiated from him was gone. So she grinned and answered.

“I mean, maybe I was waiting for an opportunity to spend time with you?” And she let out a small laugh as he gaped at her, surprised. “What, you didn’t think I would want to go out with you?”

“Not really, no.”

“Why?” she laughed. “Because you’re funny and gorgeous and clever? Oh yeah these are definitely huge turn downs for me.”

But this time, his blush disappeared and he tightened his arms around her body, bringing her closer to him. “I may be all these things, Feyre Archeron, but you’re smart, and you’re incredibly pretty, and you're… intense. And when I see your hands covered in dry paint in the morning, and the way you talk about your projects with such passion, I can’t help but feel like I can’t live up to how incredible you are. So yeah, maybe I was a bit afraid of asking you out. But can you blame me?”

Feyre couldn’t believe the turn her night had taken. She had started her evening annoyed at the power outage. And now, she was cuddling with her cute neighbor who had just admitted to having a crush on her. Or even more than a crush. So she slowly closed the distance between them and laid a shy kiss on his lips.

“Don’t worry, Rhys, you can live up to me.”


End file.
